Carlisle United boss Steven Pressley has defended his approach to recruitment, insisting he will not be rushed into new signings, despite claiming he still wants six new faces before the big kick-off in less than two weeks.
Blues supporters are becoming increasingly anxious at the lack of numbers, not to mention quality in Pressley’s squad with the season fast approaching but he insisted he will continue to wait for the right players to come along rather than adopt a ‘scattergun’ approach.
Speaking to the News & Star, he said: ‘If supporters want players in, I’ll bring players in. I could bring 10 in tomorrow, but they’re not the right players.’
‘I get offered players every day, but they’re not the players I want.’
Talking after he watched his side’s 3-1 pre-season defeat to Joey Barton’s Fleetwood Town on Saturday, he added: ‘The important thing is we have the right targets. I’d be more concerned if we were a club with a scattergun approach. It’s not – it’s a very focused recruitment process, and we want to get the players we’ve identified. That’s the bottom line.’
The match against Fleetwood only served to underline how threadbare the Cumbrians are with Pressley being forced to use on trial defender Aaron Hayden as a makeshift centre-forward in the second half.
The local paper claims United have targeted several attacking and midfield players on the books of Premier League and Championship clubs, and are also trying to progress a deal for a non-league midfielder.
Pressley confirmed he was expecting another addition by Wednesday and added that he was pleased with the effort and application of his players so far this summer, ‘I’m very happy with the way they’re working and doing things.’
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Our View
Pressley is putting himself under pressure before a ball is kicked by responding to supporters justified concerns in such a slightly abrasive manner.
Fans are not stupid and know that the club has missed out on summer targets such as Jerry Yates and Nathan Thomas.
They would probably have more respect for the club and the manager if they were honest and said the club’s financial position made it difficult for them to compete for players.
However, this would lead to further unwanted questions over the aims of the club’s owners and what is happening to the Liam McCarron money.
It is a worrying time for Carlisle supporters and somewhat ironic that the club’s stated policy is opposite from the one pursued by David Holdsworth, the club’s director of football, who when the manager at Lincoln City was famous for his revolving door and little black book of contacts.
